A LONG-AWAITED report into the dealings of the Cotswold Water Park Society (CWPS) has been published.

Independent chairman Graham Garbutt was asked to compile the report by Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) in October last year, and will present his findings at a meeting of the council’s audit committee on Monday.

The investigation looked into the setting up of the CWPS, how it was run and its financial relationship with GCC.

The report also considered how GCC had co-operated with previous reviews and inquiries into the society and any lessons that had been learned.

Around 60 witnesses were interviewed in the course of his investigation, including former CWPS chairman Dennis Grant, who was jailed last year for defrauding the organisation of £660,000.

Mr Garbutt, former chief executive of a range of organisations including Gloucester City Council, and the Countryside Agency, said he was grateful to everyone he had interviewed for their co-operation.

“My aim was to pursue all the concerns and complaints to clear conclusion and I hope we have been able to achieve that,” he said.

“The report contains clear recommendations on the future set up of the Water Park Society for the benefit of the wider community.

“I will now present my report to the council and hope that they accept the recommendations on how to move forward.”

The full report can be viewed under the Related Links tab to the right of this page.

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